Daddy Long Legs Review – Insect World

Did you know that in
addition to being a spider in certain parts of the world, “daddy long legs” is
a pretty common name for a certain creature in the UK? Yep – what Brits called
a daddy long legs is actually a crane fly, a member of the Tipulidae family. Crane
flies kinda look like big mosquitoes, have long bodies and extremely long legs,
and are classified as agricultural pests in certain parts of Europe.

Most crucially, crane
flies – as their name might imply – have wings. As one might reasonably infer from
this, crane flies are able to fly. As such, they’re infinitely better equipped
to navigate the harsh world of Danish developer Set Snail’s latest title Daddy
Long Legs. The game refers to its central protagonist as Daddy, and he does
indeed have rather long legs, so it’s an aptly named game at the very least.

The objective of the Daddy Long Legs game is simple – don’t fall over. That’s it. That’s the entirety of the game’s focus, and it’s what you’ll spend the whole game doing. Just get Daddy across certain milestone points and make sure you don’t fall along the way. How hard could that be, right? How much mileage could there be in making sure an adorable little creature like Daddy stays upright?

As it happens, quite a
bit. If you hadn’t already guessed, there’s a bit more up Daddy Long Legs’
sleeve than simply surviving. If you’ve played games like Bennett Foddy’s QWOP
or multiplayer sports shenanigans simulator Sportsfriends, then you know what
kind of ballpark you’re in for Daddy Long Legs. It’s one of those games where
the elevator pitch doesn’t really do it justice.

Let’s break down the
controls for Daddy Long Legs. To move, you press space, or use your left mouse
key. Space is probably slightly better just because of the physical feedback
you’ll get while pressing it, but the mouse button will work equally well.
Again, that’s it. Daddy Long Legs is a game that excels at creating compelling
gameplay scenarios with simple concepts, simple visuals, and a simple goal.

“Simple” does not mean the
same thing as “easy”, though, and if you know QWOP, you’ll know how devilishly
difficult these games can be. Pressing space or your mouse button will
alternate the legs Daddy is moving as he navigates his world. If you don’t
manage to make the next step on sure footing, then Daddy will faceplant into
the ground, causing you to start again from where you left off.

There isn’t too much more
to the game than that. Daddy Long Legs is one of those games that reconfigures
expectations in a way that feels satisfying even while you’re cursing the very
day you picked it up. This is simultaneously an immensely frustrating and
rewarding experience; it’s a game you’ll play for hours on end and swear you
just want “one more turn”.

Part of that is the
sweetly innocent and compelling presentation. Daddy Long Legs is rendered in
shaky artistic pencil-sketch visuals and its protagonist is utterly adorable.
Daddy’s long legs and uncertain eyes as he takes his first tentative steps over
those lines tell a story in themselves. What is this creature? Why is he
undergoing a task he’s clearly not well-equipped for? The sound design is great
too – it’s very minimalistic, which is likely best for a project like this
since intrusive or annoying music would quickly derail the entire experience.

Moving Daddy across each subsequent threshold will grant the player in-game currency which can be spent on some of the cosmetic unlockables Daddy Long Legs offers. There aren’t any in-game stat bonuses or boosts to be acquired here; it’s just you, the game, and your skill, nothing more. That said, some of the cosmetics you can get are suitably adorable, and there’s even a nice bit of text to accompany each one that’s pretty solidly written.

If you’re looking for
something to augment or ease the pain of your gameplay experience with Daddy
Long Legs, you won’t find it. This is an uncompromisingly difficult game that
probably shouldn’t even be approached by those who aren’t looking for a challenge,
but that just makes each of Daddy’s victories all the sweeter. Once the
controls click with you (and they will, eventually), you’ll routinely be
beating your best time over and over again each time you play.

Until then, Daddy Long
Legs essentially represents a single long, large learning curve, and that’s OK.
This game is all about its mechanics and its physics. If you can’t master the
gameplay of Daddy Long Legs, then simply practice until you can. There are no
stat boosts, no extra gear and no in-game levels to gain skills. There’s just
you, a keyboard, and as much time as you want to invest to become good at this
enjoyable curiosity of a title.